GEOBRANDING NEW FOCUS FOR CMO COUNCIL

The CMO Council Introduces Global Knowledge Center Dedicated to the Marketing of Countries, Destinations, Places of Origin, Attractions, Venues and Locations Worldwide

PALO ALTO, Calif. (June 4, 2010) - Countries making media headlines are often bad news for marketers seeking to attract tourism, promote destinations, burnish nation brands or attract foreign investment. Take Thailand, Mexico, Jamaica, South Korea, Madagascar and South Africa, for example. All have been impacted economically by global reports of political or internal unrest, drug violence, imminent conflict or high crime rates.  

Now a new online resource is available for marketers charged with shaping perceptions and managing reputations of countries, places of origin and attractions around the world. The GeoBranding Center of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council has just gone live on the Internet with revealing insights, analytics, case studies, best practice reports and aggregated content from subject experts and authorities worldwide.

Among its first initiatives has been a Get Wildly Creative About South Africa online ad contest using social media channels to invite people-inspired nation brand promotional ideas for the country hosting this year’s FIFA World Cup. Some 10,000 viewers downloaded content information and 450 entries were received. Winners will be showcased on June 9 at a travel, advertising and digital media industry gathering at the Desmond Tutu Center in Manhattan. In addition, the GeoBranding Center is using advanced online media analytics to track the tonality, sentiment and prevalence of millions of online conversations, tweets, and blog postings regarding Brand South Africa.

The GeoBranding Center’s advisory board includes top marketers promoting diverse destinations like Florida, Hawaii, Sao Paulo, Croatia, Kenya, Korea, Vancouver, Singapore, South Africa, and Sydney. Members of the travel, tourism and economic development communities are invited to participate by joining the CMO Council or registering to receive information at the GeoBranding Center web site.

To learn more about the GeoBranding Center please visit:
http://geobrandingcenter.org/

About the CMO Council
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 5,000 members control more than $150 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 12,000 global executives across 100 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, LoyaltyLeaders.org, Online Marketing Performance Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). www.cmocouncil.org

Media and Industry Analyst Contact:
Matt Farrell
GlobalFluency
(646) 652-5204